The Sun. — London, England, 1818-01-22 00:00:00

EWERS Ai we totve dri en the rotent , on of the Public thr Incm/poly a the FRS. am! the -mbitrAry ‘vijr.li they as line fixifliz Its! it OWN on a DF:TFIIIorNTI - D BEVERAGE, to lie great ioinrst of the oliddliog awl lo , \ er dq'ces of tire community, eve decni it our ditty to ir=ert the ft iio ink exrract from Tilt? IIEroRT of POLICE C"MMITTEE of last year, as it con tains the sentiments of the Gentleman who is tmderstond to have caned the treetin!z for Mondly n 011 t' , ii intetectina sobi-rt. and qngaests Ih . eme d v ior the removal Of Hil intolerabk iet a-re which has too lona been cuircreti to exist, and whi;•h'i o forcihist demands the inter . po , i'ion of Government ‘` As yon Ibave - given a good deal ofattention'to the so hli st t o f r h e lic t s. c i n , ! laws,what appear to von to he the chief detects of the present system ?--I have flows:lit otheln on the subject of public-house its cenci • and regolstioir, and have conceived seve ral modes of modi!ving . the present system of I:cencint: so as to mend it ; but we have alre.rdy rebuilt twenty Arts of Parl;ament on the subject, • and all 'hat has come of the patchwork is to pro • three a climax of error. I think the system is essentiAlly the very worst which man's evil genius . coold have slevisrd. The only use of it that I could ryes discover, was to raise and preserve mo pubtic interest, to put money into the pockets of individuals, to promote h a rd drinking, and to prwect disorderly boost's. Ir does !hat which the Legislature ought never to it endows certain men with the privilege of forbidding competition in the supply of victuals; and it leaves tondone that which 1 think it is the bounden duty of the Legislature to provide, viz. wholesome regulitions to di:courage, and prompt remedies to correct, drunkenness, obsce nity, and other disorders. What but public and private wrongs can be expected of such a system ? So long as particular . sets of men are privileged to limit to particsdarperions and places the supply of a necessary of life, corrupt connections and mono polies will be formed to the injury of the public. So long as such persons m ty uphold ot: put down •Victu iline houses at pleasure, the worst houses will find supporters, and the best lie insecure of `protertion ; so long Iss this money-making and uncontronlable power is vested in Justices of the Peace, sordid and tyrannical men will struggle to 'get in, and often still succeed iii getting into the Commission, and the office will be one of suspi cion, with the public Then as to the use of the system for suppressing disorders. Strong and un constitutional as it is, agair.st the property of in dividuals, a.id against the interest of 'be public, it. is impotence itself for the object of keeping poblic- • hous es in order; if, firr instance, bad practices prevail in October, the cognizance of them is de ferrtd until the 'next September ; by that time, .the victualler has learnt bow to make his peace, or at worst, he shifts the occupation to a new - tenant just before the licencing day, and there is an end of the sin; but should the Justices deter mine on a strictly severe course, and take away the licence, the owner of :fie house who tnay have had the misfortune to'get a had tenant, is punish ed f or hi s snisfortune by the deprivation of his pro perty, while the transgressor walks off with impu nity. Anti how is an" imputed transgression as certained ; a fair trial never takes place ; the suf . , ferer seldom knows who is iris accuser or what is the accusation; the organ of information is usually the High Constable, a man who may be said to he corrupt by virtoe of his office, for lie under takeslaborious dirties without any ostensible re- Near( ' ; his remoneration being derived from the custom of the poldican, whom he•generally holds, in contributioo lis; setting np mire trade Ora coal t,,,,,kkos-; the Ju.tices therefore are liable to be impos e d on by interested and fake information, a nd from the manner in which the issuing of li -evinces is run through, there is not even - time to enter into- a proper investigation ; "furthermore, if the complaint be truly averred,"whether it be on a trifling halt, or a series of climes, there is but one measure of punishment, viz. the depriva tion of the licence; when sentence is pronounced tto reason is given,lest the falseness or other bad ness of it may be used as a means of arraigning the judgment ; the sufferer therefore is set adrift, a rained and perhaps innocent man ; not an ex ample lo the world of - retributive justice on a trausgression of laws, hut the victim of a secret tribuiral. Sthh are . t he flagrant errors of this sys tem even inn good hands ; how much worse it is in other hands, I need scarcely describe, after the evidence which has been exhibited before the Committee ; dens of wickedness, the lurking places and rallying points of thieves and women of the worst kind, are upheld in their licences, in spite Of the remonstrances of the suffering neigh bourhoods aroond them, while at the same t=ine licences are withheld from persons of . faultless conduct, and in disregard of the evident wants and annual petitions of large and respectable neighb rerhoods. Do you consider the laws subjecting Magis trates to au enquiry into their conduct, - in the na ture of a criminal information, effectual for the protection of the public against their acts ?--By no means; a criminal information is a mere brutum fulmen ; there have been a few cases, to be sure, in ‘v±lidi the litencers have committed themselves the reach of the ; some have gone open-mouthed to the victuallers, telling them, that unless they voted for a particular candidate, they would ruin them by taking away ,their li censes, and afterwards taking them away, upon the victuallers no doing as they were bade ; but with common caution in abstaining from declar ing reasons, it is next to an impossibility legally to prove a corrupt taw ive ; the greatest inconsist e , ey a-d error 1113 y be wannest, but while these are capable of explanation as errors of judgment, the law will lint visit them as sins of the 'heart ; besidei, a man ruined or seriously injured by the withholding of a license, is not in a condition to go to law with a •Bench of Justices ; and if he ;10es, and succeeds in convicting them, he can get no rtliel for himself; all that be can procure is a p u ili s ho,eut for his oppressors. What powers strike you to be necessary for the better protection of individuals and the public, tt regliil tt► vietualling-!.ooseq?- 7 —ln the first place% would subject vic:stiillers to the goverutnent of laws,. like other tradesmen ; not to the wills of ,00lividitals, who are oftentimes int,rested in de stroying their property, on the one hand, or on the other, in supporting them in the most perni ciotis courses : I Would re-admit them withi e th e p , le and protection of the Constitution, and at th e same time subject the exercise of their trade • to legal guards., fur the preservation of public mo rals : I would prohibit the victualler from:supply ing liquor on his premises to . any person intoxicated, or acting in any way disorderly, or to 'routed thieves; and I would furnish him with the powers of a peace officer, to take any one mi , liehaving on his premises ioto custody ; would place before his eyrs full and clear regula tions for his guidance, and subject the breach of them to penaltieS (quickly recoverable) propor tioned to the offence ; and further ; upon the ver dict of a Jury, to tie forteitine of his licence : to discourage the setting up of houses where there may not be a good prospe c t o f a t ra d e , w i t h out descending to bad means: I would. require a duty of 2001. to be paid on every new house to be li censed. With these guards and remedies provid ed, but not other wise, I should have no tear in emancipating victuallers and the piddle front their present state of bondage. I would break sip the existing monopoly, and leave the setting up the trade of victualling, like that of other trades, to • the free operations of the wants of neighbour -1 hoods, and the judgment of the individuals who embark in it. Mash-houses and (riser disorderly houses would disappear owler the coercion of laws ; competition, left . to its 'fair and,•beneficial course, would raise new bosses in places where injurious monopolies are now upheld ; the public se , aild he victualled at a better and chestier rate ; publicans. would become, comparatively, inde pendent and respect side ; and the office of Jus tice of the Peace, rett of the miconstitution tl and corruptible licensing power with which it is now enveloped, would rise in the estimation of the public, and in the characters who would resort to • it. I took the liberty to express my ideas on this subject, in a letter to Lord Sidinotoh, last year, These are the regulations which I suggested. I would just observe, that the regulations for the ultimate exclusion of brewers from the ownership of public-houses would be less necessary than at present, it the monopoly system be thrown open. " The throwing open of the monopoly system, however, I 3111 well aware, will be strongly re sisted by the great brewers, the distillers. and the license jobbers, who have fed and thriven so largely on it. It will be said, that persons who have given large sums for licences, upon the ex pectation that they would be defended from ri valrypwill be injured, if otheri in their trade are allowed to oppose them ; but they con only he in jured where the public is benefited ; their cus tomers will not leave them to be worse off. 'rite Government yields no protection to bluchers, bakers, and others, against the rivalry of their fellow tradesmen; what especial merit then is in these speculators to entitle them, above all men, to a perpetual monopoly, I am at a loss to 'con ceive ; they ought to be thankful for the rich liar. vests which they have already collected, and ad ditionally so, if their monopoly he still in a degree favoured by the imposition of a fine of 2001. upon any one who would have permission to compete with them. " It will also be pretended, that if the discre tionary power of Ihniting the number of victual ling-houses be taken away from the licensers, there will he an excess of such . houses ; but the propos ed 2001. and other expellees incidental to .the opening of a victualling-house, are pledges against establishments rising where they cannot thrive by ' orderly means, when regulations are provided for slmt.ting them tip immediately if disoldedy. Where injurious monopolies exist, if persons should come forward and pay Government 2001, each for pernris'sion to victual neighbourhoods cheaper, better, or more conveniently, no public ,interest can have cause of regret. Even If the de mands of particular places should give rise to two or three 1)10)1k-houses, which are at present li mited to one, it by no meths follows that the fre quenters of the one house will be more disorderly if divided and dispersed in two or three. On the, contrary, experience proves that the worst prac tices prevail at houses enjoying most custom . . " But if the principle of taking off the restraint on the supply of victuals, and laying it on the dis orders that may arise in the delivery of them (and the latter is all that is found necessary, or thought wi•e in countries whose, public-houses' are well conducted) he thought too radical an alteration to be adopted throughout England, I submit t h at it ought, at any rate, to be adopted in and about the Matropoiis ; say within the li mits of the London Police. No alteration can make things worse in. the licensi ng ways o f that district. It is a peculiar jurisdiction ; the magis terial ditties are chiefly performed by gentlemen who arc paid for their labour, they, therefore, have no claim on the patr onage or i n di rect gains ' of licensing," MARINE PRESERVATIVE. From the afflicting accounts that have lately reached us from so many quarters, of the loss of our fellow-beings through shipwreck, we readily insert the .following account of a comparative trial between Air. iklAwsoN's mode of applying the buoyant principle cork, and the cork jacket. Last August experiments were made, by com mand of the Duke of Yottx and the Board of Ordnance, of the power of the first to preserve the individual in case of wreck, and found fully to answer expectation. It having been intimated that the same effect might be produced by the common cork jacket, so long known as preventing people front sinking, a comparative trial of that and Air. MALLisoN's improved mode ofapplying the biioyant principle cork, which he names the Seaman's Friend, was ordered to be made, the account of which we have the satisfaction of laying before the On thr ißtli o f December, 1817, the three men who had made the previous experiments of the .5111 of August last, went into the water ac full ws :—Gunner Graham, 5 feet 1 inches, walked in with the cork jacket until he was taken off his feet, when he remained in deep water without the power of sinking. On being ordered to lift bis arms Above his head, he sunk down, Ins w bole. body completely covered .with water, several inches, and remained so & until he iT s obliged to drop his antis, lest be should be drowned or suffocated, and which inevitably would have taken place leld he been kept in that siitiatioo for a few minutes.—Gunner Egerton, 5 feet 61 inches, then went to him, without any apparatus on, w h en they were tog e ther so ni c ely supported, as merely to he n-sl vable of siukiog with their chins out of water. Graham then came on shore, and I utting on a Seaman's Friend, common to all sizes, again returned into deep water, when, on lifting up his arms, as in the first instance, he remained perfectly safe, without the possibility of sinking deeper than his throat into the water. On Egerton placing his hands on his shoul ders, both were supported, as described in the Report of the 6th of August, viz.:-. 7 " After this, one of the men, having taken off the apparatus, went in, and was easily supported by placing his hands on the shoulders of the -other man who had the apparatus on." Gunner Whitesides, - 5 feet 91 inches, then went in with the common cork jacket ; on lifting up his arms, he s unk down instantly into the water, and although not so deer as Graham. yet sohliciently to put an end to his existence had he remained in that situation fur a few minutes. He was then ordered to dive, which lie did with considerable facility. He then came out of he water, and put on the Seaman's Friend, when, on being ordered to lift tip his anus as beftire, it was found, through the superior buoyancy the Seaman's Friend possessed, impossible. for him to sink an inch beyond his shoulders. On his being malt red to dive, he found Or same ditheolty as stated in the Report of the tth of Au gust. One of the swimmers was ordered to dive as deep as he could, which he attempted, but was prevented do ing it by the super-or Imoyaticy of the apparatus." In addi tion to the above, when they came to compare the two, it was fonint the Seaman's Ft iend, though possessing nearly a pound noire of bnoyant power, occupied in space ab o rt c less than the cork jacket, and_ presented a guard against rocks or casual iointies of two incites thickness, where the cork jae,.ar was found to possess one of less than Italian inch. On the whole, we congratulate society on the result, which confers equal bottom- on those who directed the experiments to be made, and the in ventor of such simple means, that leave no doubt that the space between the vessel and the shore, when shipwreck occurs, and where the loss of lite in general takes place, may in future be passed in comparative security ; this subject becomes of greater importance from the fact that ages have passed away, nod still our experience of the evil is limited solely to the knots-ledge of tlie effect, although the abill , ies of ingenious men, of all na tions, have been so long invoked to contrive some triode by which life at this momentous period might be saved. Lino's List weekly or . esents us with 20, too, am! even with 1600 individuals, in the prime of lifto bring lost io one un fortunate storm ; and it is only by investigating the true causes, as well principal, subordinate, and collateral, a re medy call be api.tied. This mode of ihrestigation enabled Sir H. l)avy to iovent his Safety Lamp for (7olleries—led to the introduction of iriocaiation by Lady Wortley Montague, and that of Vaccination by ,Jetwer. At present the destruction of our fellow-men arises font] the inability of the individuals to pass the skort ssace of deep water between the land and the - sh:pwrecked vessel; it follows of course, that rendering , our people incapable of sinking., throng!, the means of this ' simple apparatus, is the only true and rational mode by which the wishes of society may he accomplished. In this plain matter-of-fact view of the subject, we feel confident the court- !- try will con.ider the proceedings which have taken place on this occasion as conferring honour on all parties. MR. RICHARD THOMSON, Preacher of the Gospel. This Gentleman died oo the 6th inst. at Glas gow. - He had the misfortune in infancy to lose his sight by the small-pox. Having shewn an early and very strong desire- of knowledge, his parents were induced, notwithstanding the nn happy deprivation lie bad sustained, to place !OM in the school of the late Mr. John Hall,' and ow ing to the progress he made wider the tuition of that excellent teacher, o ?rarity him still farther by sending him to the High School, and, on the com pletion of the tour years' course there, to the Col lege. His brother and other friends who assoriated with bins, employed much of their tune in reading to him, and through their means, and by the exer tions of his wonderful tnemory,• he was able not only to perform thensital tasks prescribed in the course of a classical and philosophical education, hut to make such proficiency in learning, as ex cited the astonishment of every one, and gained for hint several prinitsms expressive of the high opinion entertained of his extraordinary talents. Having at length completed his theological studies, he applied to the Presbytery of Glasgow for license to preach. It is a law of the church, passed at the time of Dr. tilacklock, whose case was similar to Mr. Thomson's, that Presbyteries shall obtain the permission of the ialeneral Assembly before receiving a blind person upon trials for the ministry. Considering the matter apart from any particular instance, it ty,is onnossible not to hesi tate upon the ground of general expediency about acceding to the application made to them. Bat there was only one sentiment among rite mem bers of the Glasgow Presbytery as to the abilities and merits of the present applicant—all being agreed, that if ever the church were to grant the license requested, Mr. Thomson's was the case worthy of the privilege. The Presbytery receiv ed his application, and having transmitted a pe tition on his behalf to the Assembly, and being al lowed to proceed, they proposed to Mr. Thom son the usual preliminary trials, through the whole of which he acquitted himself to the surprise and satisfaction. of his examinators. He was licensed to preach accordingly,. and was heard by the crowded audiences whom the peculiarity of his situation attracted, with great interest and delight. He was spared by Providence however, only for a short time to dischinge the duty on which he had so early set his heart, .and to.parpate himself for which he had patiently overcome so. many diffi culties. A cold, .caught by him in the course of his professional exertions, settled itself down up on his lungs. 1-:le Jell into consumption, and, after having lingered fur some months, the break- ing of a blood vessel at length hastened his disso lution. The talents and dispositions of this un cornrow) young man were worthy of high admira tion and esteem. Notwithstanding the . obst'acles that opposed his acquisition of knowledge—ob stacles which to others who are more happily situated, appear almost .insuperable, his progress in his Studies was rapid, and his acquirements were great. His acquaintance with the principles of his 'own language, and of the learned tongues, %vas accurate. His-knowledge of philosophy was intimate.- His information in history, theology, and general literature was extensive, varied, and Well arranged. His.memory, as will be supposed, in .making such acquisitions, was quick and re tentive-a-and.the soundness of his judgment at the.. same time equal to the excellency of his me mory. His powers of conversation rendered hint an instructive, and his amiable and cheerful dis position a pleasing, companion. —Above all, there was added to his other endowments, a pure and humble piety—a love of religion that was at once ardent and rational. He uniformly lived under the influence of that Gospel whie, it had been his early ambition to preach, and be did peac e f u lly in the faith of is blessed and glvlious prospects. LAW INTELLIGENCE, COURT OF CHANCERY, JAN. el. Nothing Occurred to-day in this Court of ant material interest, except to the Parties diately concerned in them. COURT OF KING'S BENCH', JAN. 21. The Court were occupied the *whole of the in the discussion of questions of no interest ever, except to the parties concerned. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, JAN.2I. The Court was occupied for nearly the Whole of the day in considering the remainder of the Special Cases ; but nothing occurred'of any terest, except to.the patties. SURREY SESSIONS. INTERESTING TRIAL--.A FELONY UNDER PRETENCE OF FAIR PLAY. John Manning, a person In the habit . of attend' ing fairs, and superintending the several ga:n eg played on such occasions, was placed at the 4 3 r upon a charge of robbeiy, declared to be c otta' witted under the pretext of fair play. The indictment charged Manning With having stolen a 101. Bank of F,:q . ;land note from one Bal ; lin all, bailiff to a Mr. Cox, o f gyegate;at F , ir. The prosecutor stated, that he Went to Ewe ll' fair in October last, takin g w i t h hi m 911. of 111 s• master's l money, arid none of hisOv%ii. pals' ing through the fair lie observed several persoli s playing at cups and balls, a game of whict kN'w nothing, and taking a t ancy to !be metil" t of \\inning which p resenter ) itself to him, his master's money out of his pocket, and offered to bet that the ball was not under 1 middle one of three cups. H e h e ld a ten Bank Note in his hand, but did not hold it long, for the piisoner, who seemed to be a we' re looker on, and not at all concerned in the ganl e l snatched it and' ran off with the greatest velocil amongst the horses. At th a t moment,. as if the whole business vas a plan for robbery, the players decamped, kicking about the cups and halls, and the prosecutor was left alone gapin g a b out ill astonishment. After a, short time he met a coil' stable, to whom he mentioned the circuit's:awe% and frhin whom be received the most prq , L "P t assistance. He never saw th e note aga i n , u" after some search he found the prisoner, who ma" several ineffectual attempts to escape, at the, George public-houSe, whe r e li e seemed him, fi" L ' delivering him to the constable had the gratifica tion of seeing,rbim caged. The next witness was Furness, a 1 )41 about 14 years of age.' He" was, he Said, acci dentally attracted at Ewell-fair to the spot wher e , the cups and ball s were ex hibi ted ; was possess ea of no money, and merely observed what was go' ing forward. The prosecutor, in his preseoceo took a Bank-note out of his pOctet, acid the prisoner .instantly snatched it and took I° his heels. All thoSe who seemed to •be con .cerned in the game ran off, 'eating the instill' men aof the game i n con f us i on. Th ere w4s , a c ahqut the place, and planning. puliql the. • r after, and offered p h il42 6d. rd t- say a word li boo- the matter. %S one used to take . the 6d., anil oil finding the p rosecu t or , went with hint and tb o constable to the George public-house, where the' laid hands upon the prisoner, who took out a 21. note, and offered it to the constable if he wo"l a let plan off. The constable refused to take '6 4 bribe. The evidence for the prisoner, and his tOunsely laboured bard toronvince the Jury that the .mo ury bad been lost at t h e game , and therefore , the manner might appear fraudulent, it was evi dent the construction of felony could not be put lipms it. The CHAIRMAN' treated the subject in a veil diiierent instinct. He considered the whole 04 the evidence for the prisoner relative to th e parti cular transaction excessively liable to suspicion, even it the intelligent and consistent statement of Furness were not opposed to it ; for it wastvideot that the parties by whom the silly, and by Bo means honest, prosecutor suffered, .vere at the fair for the (purpose of taking in the unwary,- Ferglison's character he considered as bad as could be. The Jury, in order to acquit the prisoner, would be obliged to deny all credit to the evi dence of Furness, who was a disinterested spec-. and seemed to have acted with the utmost propriety. _ . The Jury pronounced a verdict of Guilty. `lr. HARRISON immediately pronounced sen tence. He hoped it would operate as a warning to the multitude who visited fairs for the parpose , of lobbing under the cover of gaming, and that the rubbery itself would have some effect upon those who were fools enough to sport with their, own money, or knaves enough to sport with that of their masters.—" The sentence of the Court. upon you, John Manning, is, that you be trans•... ported beyond the seas for the term of 7 years," ~ SUDDEN DEATH.—On Saturday last, 118 JONES, Esq. was coining to town in a posteuaisc„, from his country residence at Esher, he fell back and - expired. Mr. JONES was many years Major of the St. Margaret Westminster Vol GLUTTONY,—A few days ago, a fellow named Jenkins, whilst drinking at the White Hart public house, in Sun-street, Finsbury-square, undertook, for a trifling wager, to eat 71bs. of bhllock's liver, 3lbs. of potatoes, 2lbs. of bread, and also to drink a gallon of porter, in three,qoarters of an hour. He commenced the repast exactly at one o'clock, and ten minutes -before two he had demolished it ; but, to the great satisfaction of the company, he lost his wager, and it was found necessary to put him to bed. BIRTHS A short time ago, at his house, Frith-street, Sohn-square, the wife of N. D. De Chewant, Esq. of a son and heir, On the 15th lo s t, th e l a d y o f Capta i n F. B. Spilsbury,R.N. of a son, LONDON: hiAter? by J. B. - CARSTAIRS, of No. ';), Great Ormond -street, Queen-square ;. and pnblished Ly W. A. SCRIPPS, of No. 7, South Alotton-street, at THA Sine Office, No. 119, Strand; Micre Advotiseguents, Ot4lei9Lrttt . &e. (post-paid) lutist be addressed. 1 a ~..i •'~... f '+ 4, ~ f ~ r ~.